Re: [seul-edu] Our presence at trade shows

[Bill Ries-Knight <brk@slip.net>]

Doug Loss wrote:

> I think it's time we talked about this in general rather than on a
> specific basis every time the possibility of attending a show
> arises.

For sure.

>
> We've had a presence at three Linux shows now.
> ... Snip ...
> And just yesterday I agreed to be on a panel at LinuxWorld Expo in NYC
> in January, which I guess means that we'll have a presence there too.

Great.  We were invited back in the .org pavillion, and this will make
it nicer yet.  I can provide plenty of the flyers.

>
>
> The problem that we (and probably many other dot orgs) face is that
> we are essentially a virtual organization.  We have no actual
> physical or legal existence, so when it comes to putting in a
> real-world appearance anywhere we have to fall back on personal
> contributions by the individuals making the appearance or on
> donations by generous people or organizations (thanks, Eugene and
> Mandrake!).  Because of this we seem to be "reinventing the wheel"
> for every show.

Yes, Yes, Yes.  I would like to see us come up with a "singular" set of
points as a focus.  I know I came with my agenda, as did the others.  We
met and communicated about SEUL, and others listened.  The down side, on
my part, was the short lead time to make this work.  I think I spent a
lot of time and thought trying to get many things done in a short time,
and in my spare time.

>
> I'd like to get some discussion on what shows we should attend
> (worldwide), what kind of presentations we should put on, and how we
> should make all this happen.  It would be nice if we can develop
> some sort of "speaker's bureau" for these shows so we can provide
> some continuity from show to show and from year to year.  Pete has
> put the slideshow presentation he and Odile used in Montreal up on
> the SEUL server (I don't remember just where at the moment; Pete?),
> and Bill Ries-Knight has the flyer he used to hand out at San Jose.
> These should give us a good beginning to regularize our
> presentations.  I'm no salesman, but I recognize the importance of
> defining your main points and staying on topic as much as possible
> when presenting information to the public.
> So what do you all have to say about this?

Let us consider the "mainifesto" already set up.  I used the document
for the flyer front and back. (It was posted on the list before the
show)

Regards,
Bill